Okay, I am not going to devise a plan for your GMAT preparation here because that is each individual's own damn business, but I have found some real information regarding which section contributes more towards your score than the other section. I was browsing through Manhattan GMAT website when I found this article with some interesting statistics. Don't freak out on the name of statistics, I don't mean it literally!
According to the article, experience has shown that an excellent verbal performance affects one's overall score more dramatically than does an excellent performance in quantitative. Now Manhattan is a reputed GMAT preparation company which helps hundreds of GMAT aspirants in achieving their target score. Plus, the set of 8 books that they publish for complete GMAT preparation is the most excellent prep resource I ever found anywhere. I can claim that because I am preparing from it. And it they are saying something about the GMAT, I can't help but to pay heed to that.
Take a look at some examples -
If the overall percentile were simply an average of the individual percentiles, this person would have received about 640. But because the combination of an outstanding verbal performance with a fair quant performance is so rare, the overall percentile and score will be much higher than the lower quant percentile.
Does this work in reverse? No.
But then, keep in mind that most business schools want to see strong skills in both sections. I presented the above information not to say that you should neglect the quant section altogether if you are good at it. What I mean is focus more on the verbal as well so that you can come out with flying colors.
What if you are targetting a 760+ score. Some recent scores of 760 broke down as follows: 41V/51Q, 46V/47Q, 44V/49Q, 45V/48Q, 47V/47Q, 51V/46Q, 42V/50Q, 46V/48Q, 44V/50Q. To break 760, you more or less need to reach at least the 84th percentile in quant (subscore 46) and the 90th in verbal (subscore 40). Very few test takers can reach both on the same exam. Hence the reward of 99th percentile status to those who can.
How do you get there?
What about 800?
A score of 800 does not necessarily mean you got every question right. It means that you answered so many extremely hard questions correctly that your few errors were statistically insignificant in comparison.
So to break 760, review the most challenging questions you can find. Pick them apart. See how underneath all the fuss, they still test the same basic concepts. The only difference is the amount of insight needed to see which basic concepts are being tested. That insight will come with practice.
Take a look at some examples -
A recent test-taker received a scaled score of 45 in verbal (98th percentile) and 40 in quant (66th percentile) and an overall score of 700 (93rd percentile). Notice how much closer the overall percentile is to the excellent verbal percentile.
If the overall percentile were simply an average of the individual percentiles, this person would have received about 640. But because the combination of an outstanding verbal performance with a fair quant performance is so rare, the overall percentile and score will be much higher than the lower quant percentile.
Another person, who scored 49 in verbal (99th percentile) and 37 in quant (56th percentile), received 710 (95th percentile), even though the quant performance here was a full 10 percentile points lower than that in the previous example. Again, an outstanding performance in verbal significantly offset a middling performance in quant.
Does this work in reverse? No.
For example, a test-taker recently received a 50 in quant (97th percentile) and a 37 in verbal (82nd percentile), but "only" a 670 overall (89th percentile). So the truly excellent quant performance was not enough to pull the overall score above 700.
But then, keep in mind that most business schools want to see strong skills in both sections. I presented the above information not to say that you should neglect the quant section altogether if you are good at it. What I mean is focus more on the verbal as well so that you can come out with flying colors.
What if you are targetting a 760+ score. Some recent scores of 760 broke down as follows: 41V/51Q, 46V/47Q, 44V/49Q, 45V/48Q, 47V/47Q, 51V/46Q, 42V/50Q, 46V/48Q, 44V/50Q. To break 760, you more or less need to reach at least the 84th percentile in quant (subscore 46) and the 90th in verbal (subscore 40). Very few test takers can reach both on the same exam. Hence the reward of 99th percentile status to those who can.
How do you get there?
At the 760+ level, you will no longer be tested on the basics; by the time you start seeing 760-level questions, you will already have proven to the CAT that you have mastered the fundamentals and are ready for the tough stuff.
In quant, it is now more about logic than about calculation. In verbal, you will need to resolve subtle flaws of logic and grammar. The issues no longer announce themselves; you have to seek them out. The 760+ exam is for active test-takers. If you sit back and let the exam wash over you, chances are you will not break 760.
What about 800?
A score of 800 does not necessarily mean you got every question right. It means that you answered so many extremely hard questions correctly that your few errors were statistically insignificant in comparison.
A recent test-taker who managed an 800-level performance received 51 in verbal and 51 in quant, subscores so rare that the GMAT does not even separate them in percentile (99th) from the theoretical upper limit of 60 on each section.
So to break 760, review the most challenging questions you can find. Pick them apart. See how underneath all the fuss, they still test the same basic concepts. The only difference is the amount of insight needed to see which basic concepts are being tested. That insight will come with practice.
3 comments:
This is probably the most comprehensive write-up I've even seen on the GMAT exam. I'm a future test-taker and this post has given me some really good pointers.
Hi, I am completely new to GMAT. I have just started to surf the sites 2 days ago, so my comment might seems strange. But what is OG?
Hi, OG here means the GMAT Official Guide :-)
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